"You are finally awake." The girl sitting next to her whispered. Once their eyes met she took her hand away and stood up, straightening her skirt and letting out a small cough.
"Hello" Alice greeted her with a faint smile and tried to sit up. She felt the remains of the attack Saaha had caused. A ringing pain in between her ears. She frowned and resumed her laid down position, trying to get comfortable in her pillow.
"You don't have to get up, it's okay." Erica told her. "I was here to look after you until you wake up."
"Thank you. Where is Nacht?" she asked, noticing that her room was empty, the red haired man nowhere to be found.
"The king needed to talk to him. He will be back soon, he was very worried. You know you were asleep for quite a while. I even prayed to the Three magicians so you would wake up well." Erica confessed, her cheeks turning a faint shade of pink as she spoke of her concern. She had grabbed a chair and brought it close to the bed, no longer occupying the mattress so Alice could be more comfortable. The raven haired girl smiled.
She hadn't heard about the Three magicians in a while. Her mother always used to pray to them, tell her stories and myths about their immense power and their beautiful palace in the heavens.
The legend said that the land of Terra once belonged to the gods. They lived there thriving, spending every day in bliss until the three strongest gods realized that their days were without a true purpose. Tired of this reckless lifestyle they gifted the Land of Terra to their latest creation, human kind. Asteras, Solaris and Nychta were their names, the leaders of all gods. They all moved to the heavens where they watched over man kind and their evolution. Each big Kingdom in the land of Terra was dedicated to one of them. Sol belonged to the god Solaris, Nyx belonged to the goddess Nychta and Astro belonged to the god Asteras. They were also the ones who gifted magic to the humans, taught them how to use it, disguised as humans themselves. They were the pillars of people's faith but as the years passed Alice was aware that, at least in Nyx, were beginning to forget their existence. Humans were not afraid of gods, foolishly believing they could become more than them.
"Do people in Sol still believe in the Three Great Magicians?" Alice asked, curious about what was happening in the other Kingdoms. Erica seemed to be surprised by her question but still answered her seriously.
"Yes, of course. They are the founders of our world. We have to respect them." She said and Alice nodded.
"I see. Again thank you Erica, for looking after me and helping me. That was very nice of you." Alice said smiling at her kindly. Maybe her and Erica could become friends. They didn't have that much of an age difference anyways. She always wanted to have a friend. The girls in the brothel were hostile towards her, most of the time they searched for ways to sabotage one another, it was important to be the first name since you got a better treatment.
"No problem. Saaha seems to enjoy torturing us. She made me have nightmares for weeks once, just because I didn't listen to what she said. She can get to your head so it would be good if Nacht taught you how to protect yourself. He is the only one who knows how." The girl explained and nervously played with her fingers. She couldn't understand what kind of person that woman was. Definitely stuck up and snobbish she believed she ruled the world. Alice was sure that they wouldn't get along. Not at all.
"She sounds terrible but why hasn't Nacht taught you how to protect yourselves?"
"Even if he did we wouldn't be able to master the technique. Nacht is incredibly strong. I don't know how the king found him and brought him here but he is probably one of the strongest magicians right now."
"Really?" Alice asked surprised and the girl nodded eagerly. "But I don't think I would be able to learn it." She said with a skeptic expression. She didn't even know how to control her powers; it would be impossible for her to actually master something so hard.
"I think you would be able to do it." She told her with a shy smile. "You are strong." Erica complimented her and Alice felt a warm feeling flourish on her chest. So this was how a normal conversation with a girl her age was? It was unexpectedly splendid and calming. Alice smiled feeling happy. She had immediately liked Erica and she hoped the girl liked her too.
"Well, if I learn it I will teach you how to do it." Alice said.
"Really?"
"Yes! We can learn together." She said and attempted once more to sit properly. This time it wasn't that hard, she rested her back on the bed's head, ready to ask the girl more about herself when her twin brother stormed through the door panting, his cheeks a flaming red.
"David what's wrong?" she asked surprised and she stood up from her chair.
"Erica we need you. An assassin has entered the palace!" the boy announced.